Woman caught by Sheng Siong's facial recognition system stealing 19 bottles of wine gets 8 days' jail

A woman who stole 19 bottles of wine from a Sheng Siong outlet pleaded guilty to an amalgamated charge of theft and was sentenced to eight days' jail on Tuesday (May 12).

An amalgamated charge is a combined charge consisting multiple instances of similar offences put into a single charge, which can result in heavier penalties.

Catherine Tan Li Eng, 51, a salesperson, was flagged by the supermarket's facial recognition system after she had committed theft across seven separate occasions between Sept 2 and Sept 11 last year.

She had frequented the outlet at 622D Punggol Central and stole 19 bottles of Jacob's Creek wine, with price ranging from $28.52 to $85.56.

In total, they were valued at more than $555, according to the charge sheet.

Sheng Siong discovered the theft following an inventory check on Sept 10, 2025. 

Staff then reviewed security camera footage and saw Tan leave the outlet without paying for bottles that she put in a reusable bag, The Straits Times reported.

She had used the self-checkout kiosk to scan items of less value, but did not scan the bottles, CNA reported.

Her face was subsequently flagged and other instances of theft she had committed were retrieved automatically by the system.

It also alerted the staff when Tan visited the outlet on Sept 11, and they were able to prevent her from stealing another three bottles of wine.

She was subsequently arrested.

Tan has made full restitution, but her motive for stealing was not mentioned in court.

Her lawyer sought one to two days' jail, citing her as the sole caregiver to her intellectually disabled cousin and her mother and that she was remorseful.

But the judge noted "higher criminality" from Tan's amalgamated charge and deemed the proposed jail term "too low and not appropriate".

Theft is punishable with jail for up to three years or a fine, or both.

For her amalgamated charge of theft she could have been charged with twice the amount of jail time or fines, or both.

How does facial recognition system work?

Sheng Siong introduced facial recognition technology in April 2024 as a measure against shoplifters, and it was implemented across all outlets in August 2025, CNA reported.

When an act of theft is detected by staff, security camera footage is reviewed to determine the suspect's identity, and the face is then flagged in the system.

As soon as the flagged individual enters a Sheng Siong outlet, store managers will be alerted via mobile phone and staff will monitor the individual's actions and stop them if they shoplift again.

Suspects are usually identified only after they leave the store with unpaid goods, and their faces are only removed from the system after they have been arrested, The Straits Times reported.

[[nid:725601]]

khooyihang@asiaone.com